Methods, apparatus, and machine-readable storage media to monitor a media presentation

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatus, and machine-readable storage media to monitor media presentations are disclosed. A disclosed example apparatus includes a locator to compare a location of a mobile device with a set of reference locations at which audio monitoring is to be performed. The disclosed example apparatus further includes an audio receiver to enable a microphone of the mobile device to collect audio for media monitoring when (1) the location of the mobile device corresponds to a first one of the reference locations and (2) a media presentation monitor at the first one of the reference locations indicates a likelihood of media being presented at the first location satisfies a threshold. In some disclosed examples, the audio receiver of the example apparatus is to disable the microphone from collecting audio for media monitoring when the location of the mobile device does not correspond to any of the reference locations.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/436,444, filed Mar. 30, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,200,751,entitled “METHODS, APPARATUS, AND MACHINE READABLE STORAGE MEDIA TOMONITOR A MEDIA PRESENTATION.” Priority to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/436,444 is hereby claimed. U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/436,444 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to audience measurement and, moreparticularly, to methods, apparatus, and machine readable storage mediato monitor a media presentation.

BACKGROUND

Audience measurement involves the statistical analysis of audiencecomposition for the presentations of media. Some mobile devices are usedto collect information that is used to perform audience measurementanalysis, because such devices are becoming more popular and are oftencarried by users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system constructed in accordance with theteachings of this disclosure to monitor media presentation, in which amedia presentation device includes a presentation monitor.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example system constructed in accordance withthe teachings of this disclosure to monitor media presentation, in whicha presentation monitor is external to a media presentation device.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example system constructed in accordance withthe teachings of this disclosure to monitor media presentation, in whicha presentation monitor is disposed between a media presentation deviceand a network.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example system constructed in accordance withthe teachings of this disclosure to monitor media presentation, in whicha media presentation device includes both a presentation monitor and amedia collector.

FIG. 5A is a block diagram of an example presentation monitor that maybe used to implement any or all of the presentation monitors of FIGS.1-4.

FIG. 5B is a block diagram of another example presentation monitor thatmay be used to implement any or all of the presentation monitors ofFIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 5C is a block diagram of another example presentation monitor thatmay be used to implement any or all of the presentation monitors ofFIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example media collector that may be usedto implement any or all of the media collectors of FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another example media collector including alocator that may be used to implement any or all of the media collectorsof FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating example communication flows in thesystems of FIGS. 1-4 to monitor media presentations.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which, when executed, cause a processor to transmit anotification of media presentation.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which, when executed, cause a processor to transmit anotification of media not being presented.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which, when executed, cause a processor to monitor audio.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which, when executed, cause a processor to monitor audio.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which, when executed, cause a processor to transmit storeddata.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example computer capable of executingthe example instructions of FIGS. 9A-12 to implement the examplepresentation monitor of FIG. 5 and/or the example media collectors ofFIGS. 6 and/or 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods, apparatus, and/or machine readable storage mediadisclosed herein may be used to monitor the presentation of media. Thepresentation of media often includes the output of audio from a mediapresentation device (e.g., a television, a radio, a home theater system,a tablet, a smartphone, etc.). The audio may be collected by any devicethat includes a microphone and is within range of the audio output. Dueto the proliferation of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets(e.g., an Apple® iPad®), and the frequency with which the users of suchdevices have them in their possession, measurement may be improved byusing mobile devices to collect audio. However, software to enable thecollection of audio via smartphones can adversely affect battery life ofthe mobile devices. For instance, enabling a mobile device microphone tocapture audio for an extended time period, and/or processing and storingsuch collected audio causes a substantial drain on the mobile device'sbattery. This drain reduces the amount of time the device can be usedbetween charging.

Example methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture disclosedherein reduce the adverse effect of collecting audio on the battery lifeof mobile devices. In some disclosed examples, a mobile devicedetermines a status of media presentation at a first location, collectsaudio when the status indicates a likelihood of media presentation atthe first location, and does not collect audio when the status indicatesno likelihood of media presentation.

Some example methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacturedisclosed herein include a presentation monitor to determine whetherthere is a likelihood of media being presented at a first location, andto update a status at a status server to indicate the likelihood ofmedia being presented. In some examples, the presentation monitor alsoupdates the status to the status server when the presentation monitordetermines that there is a low or no likelihood that media is beingpresented at the location. A status server maintains the status of mediapresentation for the first location, and provides the status to a mediacollector periodically, aperiodically, continuously, at predeterminedtimes, in response to an event, and/or on demand.

In some examples, a mobile device includes a media collector. Examplemedia collectors include an application to collect audio or to otherwisecollect representations of presented media on a mobile device. In someexamples, the mobile device receives (e.g., from a status server) anindication that media is being presented at a first location before(e.g., as a pre-condition to) the mobile device collecting the audio. Insome examples, the mobile device determines a location of the mobiledevice and, when the mobile device is near the first location (e.g., hassubstantially the same location as the first location, is close enoughto the first location to detect or capture audio being presented at thefirst location, etc.), the mobile device receives the status from thestatus server. When the status indicates a likelihood of media beingpresented at the first location, the mobile device begins collectingaudio. On the other hand, when the status indicates there is a low or nolikelihood of media being presented, the mobile device does not collectaudio.

As used herein, the terms “having a likelihood”, “more than a sufficientlikelihood” and/or “sufficient likelihood” refer to a likelihood beinggreater than a non-zero threshold. Conversely, the terms “insufficientlikelihood”, “not having a likelihood,” “having no likelihood,” and/or“having low likelihood” refer to the likelihood being less than athreshold, which may be zero or non-zero.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 to monitor media presentation.The example system 100 of FIG. 1 may be used to perform audiencemeasurement by collecting audio being presented at a first location 102.In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the first location 102 is a roomof a household (e.g., a “Nielsen family”) that has been statisticallyselected for monitoring for the purpose of developing ratings data(e.g., television ratings, radio ratings, Internet ratings, etc.) forone or more populations/demographics of interest. For example, audiencemeasurement services (e.g., Nielsen Cross-Platform Measurement)statistically select panelist households for measurement of television,online, and/or other types of content viewing. One or more persons ofthe household may have registered with the system (e.g., by agreeing tobe a panelist) and may have provided their demographic information aspart of the registration. The selected panelists' in-home and/orout-of-home viewing are measured to obtain ratings and/or otherviewership information.

The example of FIG. 1 includes a media presentation device 104 and amobile device 106. In the example of FIG. 1, the media presentationdevice 104 and the mobile device 106 are associated with the firstlocation 102. For example, the media presentation device 104 and themobile device 106 may be owned by a panelist, where the first locationis the panelist's household or a portion of the household. The examplemedia presentation device 104 of FIG. 1 may be a television (e.g., asmart television, an Internet-connected television, a television capableof executing software instructions, etc.), a personal computer(including, for example, notebook computers, netbook computers, and/orany other subtype of computing device), a tablet computer (e.g., anApple® iPad®), a radio, a stereo, a game console, an optical disk player(e.g., a DVD player, a Blu-ray player, etc.) and/or any other past,present, and/or future media presentation devices.

In the example system 100 of FIG. 1, the media presentation device 104includes a presentation monitor 108 that monitors a likelihood ofwhether the media presentation device 104 is presenting media. Thepresentation monitor 108 may be implemented using a software applicationexecuting on the media presentation device 104. In some examples, thepresentation monitor 108 is implemented in a media presentationapplication (e.g., a Netflix application, etc.). In some other examples,the presentation monitor 108 is included as a separate application(e.g., an application downloadable from an online application store suchas, for example, the Apple® iTunes® App Store, the Google AndroidMarket™) and/or implemented in an operating system of the mediapresentation device 104 (e.g., part of the media presentation device 104at the time of sale, downloaded to the device as a software and/orfirmware update, etc.). In some examples, the presentation monitor 108is incapable of identifying the presented media (e.g., the presentationmonitor 108 detects that media is being presented, but does not identifythe media being presented).

The example mobile device 106 of FIG. 1 may be a mobile phone, such as asmartphone or any other type of mobile phone on which software can beinstalled and executed. In some other examples, the mobile device 106 isa portable media device (e.g., an iPod®), a personal digital assistant(PDA), and/or any other type of portable or mobile device that can beused to collect audio. The example mobile device 106 of FIG. 1 includesa media collector 110. The media collector 110 of FIG. 1 receives astatus indicating whether there is a likelihood of media being presentedat the first location 102. When the status indicates that there is asufficient likelihood of media being presented, the example mediacollector 110 collects audio. On the other hand, when the statusindicates there is an insufficient likelihood of media being presentedat the first location 102, the media collector 110 does not collectaudio (e.g., the collector 110 remains in a low power and/or an idlestate).

The example system 100 of FIG. 1 further includes a status server 112and a media monitoring server 114. In the example of FIG. 1, the statusserver 112 and the media monitoring server 114 are communicativelycoupled to the media presentation device 104 and/or to the mobile device106 via a network 116 such as the Internet. The status server 112receives status updates from the presentation monitor 108 via thenetwork 116. The status updates are indicative of when the firstlocation 102 has a sufficient likelihood of media being presented tomerit data collection. The media collector 110 receives the statusupdates based on, for example, the location of the mobile device 106.Upon receiving the status update, the media collector 110 determineswhether to start, not start, stop, and/or continue collecting audio.When the media collector 110 collects audio, the media collector 110provides the audio to the media monitoring server 114 (e.g., via thenetwork 116).

As mentioned above, the example media collector 110 may receive thestatus update from the status server 112 when the mobile device 106 isat the first location 102 (e.g., substantially the same location as themedia presentation device 104). To determine the location of the mobiledevice 106, the example media collector 110 may determine whether themobile device 106 is connected to the same local area network (LAN) asthe media presentation device 104 and/or the presentation monitor 108.To this end, the example system 100 may include a router 118, such as awireless network router that enables network communication via wiredand/or wireless communications. In some other examples, the mediacollector 110 may determine a location of the mobile device 106 usingGlobal Positioning System (GPS) information, cellular and/or WiFitriangulation information, and/or any other method of determining alocation of the mobile device 106 (e.g., requests the user to identifytheir location by, for example, manually entering the same, selectingfrom a list of locations, etc.).

When the media collector 110 of FIG. 1 determines that the mobile device106 is connected to the router 118 (e.g., connected to the same LAN asthe media presentation device 104 and/or the presentation monitor 108),the media collector 110 of the illustrated example determines that themobile device 106 is in the first location 102. The example mediacollector 110 of FIG. 1 polls the status server 112 for the status ofthe media presentation device 104 associated with the determinedlocation and/or time of day. If the status indicates a likelihood thatthe media presentation device 104 is presenting media content, theexample media collector 110 begins or continues collecting audio.

The example media collector 110 of FIG. 1 transmits collected audioand/or a representation of the collected audio (e.g., a hash of thecollected audio, a signature describing the collected audio, anidentification code embedded in the audio, etc.) to the media monitoringserver 114 (e.g., via the network 116). In some examples, the mediacollector 110 identifies the media being presented based on thecollected audio, and transmits an identification of the media to themedia monitoring server 114. As used herein, the identification of themedia includes information that is inserted in the media for the purposeof identifying the media (e.g., watermarks, codes, etc.) and/or includesinformation inherent to one or more aspects of the media (e.g., theaudio, etc.) or to one or more aspects of the signal representing themedia, which inherent information identifies the media (e.g.,signatures, fingerprints, etc.).

FIG. 2 illustrates another example system 200 to monitor mediapresentation in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. Theexample system 200 may be used to perform audience measurement bycollecting audio being presented at the first location 102 or any otherlocation of the mobile device 106. The example of FIG. 2 includes theexample first location 102, the example mobile device 106, the examplemedia collector 110, the example status server 112, the example mediamonitoring server 114, the example network 116, and the example router118 of FIG. 1. However, the example system 200 differs from the system100 of FIG. 1 in that a presentation monitor 202 is provided separatefrom a media presentation device 204. As a result, the example system200 may be used in situations in which the media presentation device 204is incapable of implementing or otherwise does not implement thepresentation monitor 202. For example, the system 200 of FIG. 2 may beused when the media presentation device 204 is not capable of a networkconnection to facilitate updating the status server 112 of the status ofmedia presentation at the first location 102 and/or in other cases whena standalone meter or a meter in another home detection device ispreferred.

In the example of FIG. 2, the presentation monitor 202 is implementedusing a device separate from the media presentation device 204. Forexample, the presentation monitor 202 may include an audiencemeasurement device (e.g., a meter provided by an audience measuremententity) located proximate to the media presentation device 204. Thepresentation monitor 202 of the illustrated example is provided with oneor more media presentation detection mechanisms, such as a microphone tocollect audio being presented, a hardware tap to identify (e.g., snoop)one or more electrical buses and/or signals from the media presentationdevice 204, an image sensor to detect video being presented, a probe orsensor to detect channel change events and/or identify tuned channels,and/or any other type of sensor or transducer.

When, based on one or more sensor and/or transducer inputs, thepresentation monitor 202 of the illustrated example determines there isa sufficient likelihood that the media presentation device 204 ispresenting media, the presentation monitor 202 sends a status update tothe status server 112 indicating the status of the first location 102(e.g., media being presented). The status update of the illustratedexample identifies the first location, the media presentation device204, the presentation monitor 202, the time of day, and/or the date atwhich media is presented. The example status server 112 of theillustrated example then provides the status to the example mediacollector 110 to determine whether the media collector 110 is to collectaudio.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example system 300 to monitor mediapresentation in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. Theexample system 300 may be used to perform audience measurement bycollecting audio being presented at the first location 102. The exampleof FIG. 3 includes the example first location 102, the example mobiledevice 106, the example media collector 110, the example status server112, the example media monitoring server 114, the example network 116,and the example router 118 of FIG. 1. However, the example system 300differs from the systems 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2 in that apresentation monitor 302 is interposed between a media presentationdevice 304 and the network 116. As a result, the example system 300 maybe used in situations in which the media presentation device 304 maycommunicate with a network (e.g., is an Internet-connected device) butdoes not or cannot implement the presentation monitor 302. For example,the system 300 of FIG. 3 may be used when the media presentation device304 is capable of an Internet connection but deploying, developing,and/or implementing a presentation monitor within the media presentationdevice 304 is not practical or is otherwise disadvantageous orundesired.

The example presentation monitor 302 of FIG. 3 is communicativelycoupled between the example media presentation device 304 and thenetwork 116 (e.g., between the media presentation device 304 and therouter 118). The example presentation monitor 302 of the illustratedexample monitors and/or snoops incoming and/or outgoing datacommunications to the media presentation device 304. When thepresentation monitor 302 of the illustrated example identifiescommunications to the media presentation device 304 that indicate asufficient likelihood of media being presented, the presentation monitor302 updates a status of the first location to the status server 112. Theexample status server 112 of the illustrated example then provides thestatus to the example media collector 110 to determine whether the mediacollector 110 is to collect audio.

While the example systems 100, 200, 300 of FIGS. 1-3 are described withreference to a first location 102, such as a household of a panelistassociated with the mobile device 106, the systems 100, 200, 300 are notlimited in the number of locations and/or devices that may be usedand/or monitored. In some examples, the media collector 110 receivesstatus updates for any locations at which the media collector 110determines the mobile device 106 is located. For example, if the mediacollector 110 determines that the mobile device is at a second locationassociated with a commercial establishment, and the status server 112has a status associated with the same location, the status server 112 ofsuch examples provides a status update indicative of whether there is asufficient likelihood of media presentation at the second location tothe media collector 110 to begin, continue, or stop data collection asthe case may be.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example system 400 to monitor mediapresentation in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. In theexample of FIG. 4, the mobile device 106 includes both the mediacollector 110 and a presentation monitor 402.

The example presentation monitor 402 of FIG. 4 monitors the mobiledevice 106 to determine a likelihood that media is being presented onthe mobile device 106 and/or in the vicinity of the mobile device. Forexample, the presentation monitor 402 monitors applications operating onthe mobile device 106, monitors incoming and/or outgoing data traffic atthe mobile device 106, monitors an audio output device for audio beingoutput, and/or otherwise monitors the mobile device 106 for anindication of media presentation on the device 106 or on another mediapresentation device near the mobile device 106. When the presentationmonitor 402 determines that there is a likelihood that the mobile device106 and/or another media presentation device in the vicinity of themobile device 106 is presenting media, the presentation monitor 402updates the corresponding status at the status server 112.

When the example media collector 110 receives a status update (e.g.,from the status server 112, from the presentation monitor 402, etc.)indicating there is a sufficient likelihood of media being presented atthe mobile device 106, the media collector 110 begins collecting audiofrom the mobile device 106. For example, the media collector 110 mayaccess an audio output buffer or other source of audio data and/or mayuse a microphone present in the mobile device 106 to record the audiobeing played by the mobile device 106.

FIG. 5A is a block diagram of an example presentation monitor 500 thatmay be used to implement any of the presentation monitors 108, 202, 302,402 of FIGS. 1-4. The presentation monitor 500 of the illustratedexample may be implemented in a media presentation device (e.g., a TV, acomputer, a tablet, a cellular phone, etc.), proximate to a mediapresentation device, between a media presentation device and a network,and/or on a mobile device (which may also be a media presentationdevice). The example presentation monitor 500 of FIG. 5 includes apresentation detector 502 and a status updater 504.

The example presentation detector 502 of FIG. 5A detects the startand/or the end of media presentations at a first location (e.g., thelocation 102 of FIG. 1). For example, where the presentation monitor 500is included in a media presentation device (e.g., the media presentationdevice 104 of FIG. 1), the presentation detector 502 may identifynetwork connections and/or data received from a network (e.g., thenetwork 116 of FIG. 1), monitor an operating state of the mediapresentation device (e.g., an on state, a playing media state, a pausedstate, an off state, etc.), monitor user inputs (e.g., remote control orother user inputs), and/or otherwise determine a likelihood of mediapresentation at the first location.

Another example presentation monitor 506 is shown in FIG. 5B. In theexample of FIG. 5B, the presentation monitor 506 is provided externaland proximate to a media presentation device (e.g., the mediapresentation device 204 of FIG. 2) at the first location 102. Theexample presentation monitor 506 includes one or more sensors 508,transducers 510, bus taps 512, and/or other input devices to determinewhether media is being presented by the media presentation device.

Another example presentation monitor 514 is shown in FIG. 5C. In theexample of FIG. 5C, the presentation monitor 514 is provided between amedia presentation device (e.g., the media presentation device 304 ofFIG. 3) and a network (e.g., the network 116). The example presentationmonitor 514 includes a media presentation device port 516 and a networkport 518. The media presentation device port 516 communicatively couplesthe presentation detector 514 to the media presentation device. Thenetwork port 518 communicatively couples the presentation detector 514to a network (e.g., the Internet) and to a status server. The examplepresentation detector 514 snoops data being transmitted between themedia presentation device 304 and the network 116 to determine whethermedia is being presented by the media presentation device.

In some examples, the presentation detector 502 determines which mediais being presented based on multiple factors. In some such examples,these factors are weighted according to their relative correlations topresentation of media. For example, a factor may weigh in favor of mediabeing presented when the factor is present and weigh against media beingpresented when the factor is not present. A factor may weigh either infavor of or against media being presented when present (or absent) andhave a reduced or no effect on a determination of whether media beingpresented when absent (or present). Some factors may be dispositive ofwhether media is being presented when present, absent, or both.

When the example presentation detector 502 determines that media ispresented and previously media was not being presented, the examplestatus updater 504 updates a status of the first location 102 at astatus server (e.g., the status server 112). Conversely, when theexample status updater 504 determines that media is not being presentedand previously there was believed to be a likelihood of media beingpresented, the example status updater 504 updates a status of the firstlocation 102 at the status server 112 to indicate that there is nolikelihood. In some examples, the status updater 504 also sends anupdate to the status server 112 (e.g., a keep-alive update) when thedetermined status is the same as the most recent status. In some otherexamples, the status updater 504 does not send an update if thedetermined status is the same as the most recent status.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example media collector 600 that may beused to implement any or all of the media collectors 110 of FIGS. 1-4.The example media collector 600 of FIG. 6 may be used to collect audiobeing presented via a media presentation device (e.g., the mediapresentation devices 104, 204, 304, of FIGS. 1-3 and/or the mobiledevice 106 of FIG. 4) when a status indicates that there is a likelihoodof media being presented. In some examples, the media collector 600 isimplemented in a mobile device 106 using software, firmware, and/orhardware. The example media collector 600 includes a status checker 602,an audio receiver 604, a media monitor 606, a data store 608, and a datatransmitter 610.

The status checker 602 of the illustrated example receives a status ofmedia presentation of one or more monitored location(s) (and/ordevice(s)). For example, the status checker 602 (and/or the mobiledevice 106) may be associated with a first location (e.g., the firstlocation 102 of FIGS. 1-4) such as a panelist household. The statuschecker 602 receives the status (e.g., periodically, aperiodically, atparticular times, substantially continuously, and/or in response to oneor more events such as entry to the monitored location as determined byGPS) of media presentation at the first location. In the illustratedexample, the status may include a simple Boolean status (e.g., there isa sufficient likelihood of media presentation, there is not a sufficientlikelihood of media presentation). In some other examples, the statusmay include a quantified likelihood (e.g., a percentage chance of mediapresentation). In these examples, the status checker 602 compares thequantified likelihood to a threshold to determine whether there is anappropriate likelihood of media presentation at the first location 102to justify beginning (or ending) audio collection.

When the status checker 602 of the illustrated example determines thatthere is a sufficient likelihood of media being presented, the exampleaudio receiver 604 of FIG. 6 collects audio. For example, the audioreceiver 604 of the illustrated example enables a microphone of a mobiledevice 106 to collect ambient audio in the vicinity of the mobile device106. In some other examples (e.g., where the media collector isimplemented in the media presentation device), the audio receiver 604may access an audio stream, an audio output buffer, and/or any othersource of audio information within the media presentation device. Theexample audio receiver 604 of the illustrated example stores thecollected audio and/or a representation thereof in the data store 608 incompressed and/or uncompressed format(s).

In some examples, the audio receiver 604 provides the collected audio tothe media monitor 606. The example media monitor 606 of FIG. 6 mayreceive the collected audio from the audio receiver 604 and/or mayaccess stored audio from the data store 608. The media monitor 606 ofthe illustrated example identifies media (e.g., content oradvertisements) represented by the collected audio. For example, themedia monitor 606 may identify media by collecting codes and/or bygenerating signatures and/or hashes of the audio for comparison to knownsignatures and/or hashes. In some other examples, the media monitor 606does not identify media, but identifies codes within the captured audioto confirm that the captured audio is due to a media presentation.

The example data store 608 of FIG. 6 stores collected audio and/or mediaidentifications. In some examples, the data store 608 includes one orboth of volatile and/or non-volatile memory. For example, the data store608 may be implemented within a memory unit of a mobile device (e.g., insolid-state storage).

The example data transmitter 610 of FIG. 6 transmits collected audiodata (and/or a representation thereof) and/or identifications of mediabased on collected audio. For example, the data transmitter 610 of theillustrated example transmits the collected audio to the mediamonitoring server 114 via the network 116 of FIGS. 1-4. In someexamples, the data transmitter 610 transmits the data when a thresholdamount of collected audio has been stored in the data store 608. Inother examples, the data transmitter 610 transmits the data atparticular times of day, in response to an event (e.g., when the mobiledevice is being charged), substantially continuously (e.g., when theaudio is received), and/or on request (e.g., from the media monitoringserver 114).

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of another example media collector 700 thatmay be used to implement any or all of the media collectors 110 of FIGS.1-4. The example media collector 700 of FIG. 7 includes the statuschecker 602, the audio receiver 604, the media monitor 606, the datastore 608, and the data transmitter 610 of FIG. 6. Additionally, theexample media collector 700 of FIG. 7 includes a locator 702. Like themedia collector 600 of FIG. 6, the example media collector 700 may beimplemented in a mobile device such as the mobile device(s) 106 of FIGS.1-4.

The locator 702 determines a location of a mobile device 106 in whichthe media collector 700 is implemented. For example, the locator 702 mayinclude or access a GPS sensor to determine a location of the mobiledevice 106. The position may additionally or alternatively be determinedusing cellular and/or WiFi access point triangulation. In some examples,the locator 702 determines whether the mobile device 106 is in the firstlocation 102 based on the mobile device 106 being connected to awireless LAN (e.g., a WiFi router) that is broadcasting in the firstlocation 102.

When the example locator 702 determines that the mobile device 106 is ina location to be monitored (e.g., the first location, a public location,etc.), the locator 702 notifies the status checker 602. The detection ofwhether the device 106 is in a location to be monitored may be made, forexample, by consulting a list of places identified as having mediapresentation devices (e.g., the panelist's home, restaurants, bars,etc.) The list may be maintained by the mobile device 106 and may beupdated based on user input, historical behavior, developed during acalibration period (e.g., a first month of monitoring, etc.), etc. Theexample status checker 602 of FIG. 7 requests or polls the status server112 for the status of media presentation for the location identified bythe locator 702. In other examples, the locator 702 exports thedetermined location to the status server which maintains a master listof locations to be monitored.

By using the locator 702, the example media collector 700 of FIG. 7 canmore accurately determine when to check the status of a location, whilestill conserving battery life of a mobile device. Furthermore, byidentifying the location of the mobile device 106 and checking a statusbased on the location, the example locator 702 improves the monitoringof multiple locations while increasing the battery life of a mobiledevice.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart 800 illustrating example communication flows inany or all of the systems 100, 200, 300, 400 of FIGS. 1-4 to monitormedia presentations. The example flowchart 800 includes communicationsoccurring between one or more of a presentation monitor 802 (e.g., anyof the presentation monitors 108, 202, 302, 402 of FIGS. 1-4), a statusserver 804 (e.g., the status server 112 of FIGS. 1-4), a media collector806 (e.g., the media collector 110 of FIGS. 1-4), and a media monitoringserver 808 (e.g., the media monitoring server 114 of FIGS. 1-4). Forclarity of discussion, the example flowchart 800 will be described withreference to a single media presentation location (e.g., the firstlocation 102 of FIG. 1) associated with the presentation monitor 802 andthe media collector 806. However, the flowchart 800 may be modified tobe used with multiple locations, multiple presentation monitors, and/ormultiple media collectors.

The example flowchart 800 of FIG. 8 begins by starting the status server804 (block 810). When the status server 804 is started, the statusserver 804 sets a status (e.g., a media presentation status orlikelihood for the first location) to “media not being presented” (e.g.,less than a threshold (e.g., zero or no) likelihood of media beingpresented). At a time after the status server 804 is started, theexample media collector 806 polls the status server 804 (block 812). Forexample, the media collector 806 may send a status request identifyingone or more locations of which the status is requested.

Based on the request or poll, the status server 804 determines therequested status (block 814). In the illustrated example, the statusserver 804 determines that the first location does not have a sufficientlikelihood of media being presented. In some examples, the likelihood isbased on data currently collected by the presentation monitor. In otherexamples, the likelihood is based on historical patterns reflectingmedia exposure by location and time of day. This historical data may becollected during an initial calibration period when media exposure datais always collected (at the expense of battery life) to develop thehistorical pattern(s) for the corresponding user(s). In some examples,the historical data is adjusted over time (e.g., after the calibrationprocess) based on data collected by the presentation monitor.

Referring to the example of FIG. 8, because the status server 804determines that there is not a sufficient likelihood of media beingpresented, the status server 804 transmits to the media collector 806 aresponse message 816 indicating that media is not being presented.

At some time after the status server starts (block 810), the examplepresentation monitor 802 detects a start of a media presentation (block818). Based on the detection, the example presentation monitor 802transmits a status update message 820 to the status server 804. Theexample update message 820 of the illustrated example includes anidentification of the first location and the updated status (e.g., asufficient likelihood of media being presented). The status server 804receives the update message 820 and updates a status of the firstlocation to reflect a sufficient likelihood of media being presented(block 822).

At a time after the status server 804 updates the status (block 822),the status server 804 may push a status update to the correspondingmedia collector 806 and/or the example media collector 806 may againpoll the status server 804 for a status of media presentation (block824). In response, the status server 804 determines the requested status(block 826) and transmits a response message 828 indicating that thereis a sufficient likelihood of media being presented. The example polling(block 824), determination of status (block 826), and response message828 may be performed in a similar or identical manner to respectiveblocks 812, 814 and message 816. When the media collector 806 receivesthe response message 828 indicating that media is being presented, theexample media collector 806 monitors media (e.g., collects audio) andstores results of the monitoring (e.g., stores audio, storesidentifications of media based on the audio, stores codes, storessignatures, etc.) (block 830).

At some time after detecting the start of the media presentation (block818), the example presentation monitor 802 detects an end of the mediapresentation (e.g., there is no longer a likelihood of media beingpresented) (block 832). In such circumstances, the example presentationmonitor 802 sends to the status server 804 a status update message 834indicating the change in status. The status server 804 updates a statusfor the first location based on the status update message 834 toindicate no likelihood of media being presented (block 836). In someexamples, the presentation monitor 802 does not detect the end of themedia presentation (block 832) and/or does not transmit the statusupdate message 834. In such an example, the status update message 820indicating the start of a media presentation may be the only statusmessage transmitted to the status server 804 with respect to a givenpresentation. In such an example, the status update message 820 expiresafter a threshold amount of time (e.g., five minutes, ten minutes,thirty minutes, one hour, etc.). In some examples, the presentationmonitor 802 transmits an additional status update message indicatingthat media is still being presented. In such an example, the thresholdamount of time may be increased such that the status update message 820does not expire (e.g., there remains a sufficient likelihood of mediabeing presented for an additional period of time). Additionally oralternatively, an expiration timer (e.g., a timer since the last statusupdate message indicating that media is presented) may be reset toindicate that there remains a sufficient likelihood of media beingpresented until the expiration of the timer. In some examples, theadditional status update message is transmitted from the presentationmonitor 802 prior to the threshold amount of time (e.g., prior to theexpiration of the status update message 820).

At a time after the status server 804 updates the status to indicate no(or an insufficient) likelihood of media being presented (block 836),the example media collector 806 may again poll the status server 804 fora status of media presentation (block 838). In response, the statusserver 804 determines the requested status (block 840) and transmits aresponse message 842 indicating that there is no likelihood of mediabeing presented. The example polling (block 838), determination ofstatus (block 840), and response message 842 may be performed in asimilar or identical manner to respective blocks 812, 814 and message816. When the media collector 806 receives the response message 842indicating that media is not being presented, the example mediacollector 806 stops monitoring media (e.g., stops collecting audio)(block 844).

The example media collector 806 uploads results of monitoring to themedia monitoring server 808 (block 846). The example upload may includecollected audio, representations of collected audio, codes, signatures,timestamps, and/or identifications of media based on the collectedaudio. The example media monitoring server 808 analyzes the resultsbased on the upload (block 848). The analysis may include, for example,performing audience measurement and/or media identification based on thecollected audio and/or identifications provided by the media collector806.

In some examples, the status server 804 is omitted and/or selectivelyemployed. In such examples, the presentation monitor 802 and the mediacollector 806 directly communicate with each other. When, for example,direct communication between the presentation monitor 802 and the mediacollector 806 is not possible (e.g., when the presentation monitor 802and the media collector 806 are in separate locations), the statusserver 804 may be selectively included to, for example, enable statusupdates to be communicated to the media collector 806. When directcommunication between the presentation monitor 802 and the mediacollector 806 is possible, the status server 806 may be cut out of thecommunication or only updated for historical purposes. When directcommunication is possible, the media collector 806 may start and/or stopcollecting based on communications received directly from thepresentation monitor 802.

While example manners of implementing the presentation monitors 108,202, 302, 402, the media collectors 110, and/or the mobile devices 106of FIGS. 1-4 have been illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5C, 6, and 7, one or moreof the elements, processes and/or devices illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5C, 6,and 7 may be combined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/orimplemented in any other way. Further, the example presentationdetectors 502, the example status updaters 504, the example sensors 506,the example transducers 508, the example media presentation device port510, the example network port 512, the example status checkers 602, theexample audio receivers 604, the example media monitors 606, the exampledata stores 608, the example data transmitters 610, the example locator702 and/or, more generally, the example presentation monitors 108, 202,302, 402, the example media collectors 110, and/or the example mobiledevices 106 of FIGS. 1-4 may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.Thus, for example, any of the example presentation detectors 502, theexample status updaters 504, the example sensors 506, the exampletransducers 508, the example media presentation device port 510, theexample network port 512, the example status checkers 602, the exampleaudio receivers 604, the example media monitors 606, the example datastores 608, the example data transmitters 610, the example locator 702and/or, more generally, the example presentation monitors 108, 202, 302,402, the example media collectors 110, and/or the example mobile devices106 of FIGS. 1-4 could be implemented by one or more circuit(s),programmable processor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s)(ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)), etc. When any of the apparatusor system claims of this patent are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example presentationdetectors 502, the example status updaters 504, the example sensors 506,the example transducers 508, the example media presentation device port510, the example network port 512, the example status checkers 602, theexample audio receivers 604, the example media monitors 606, the exampledata stores 608, the example data transmitters 610, the example locator702, the example presentation monitors 108, 202, 302, 402, the examplemedia collectors 110, and/or the example mobile devices 106 of FIGS. 1-4are hereby expressly defined to include a tangible machine readablestorage medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, etc. storing thesoftware and/or firmware. Further still, the example the examplepresentation monitors 108, 202, 302, 402, the example media collectors110, and/or the example mobile devices 106 of FIGS. 1-4 may include oneor more elements, processes and/or devices in addition to, or insteadof, those illustrated in FIG. 4, and/or may include more than one of anyor all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices.

Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions forimplementing the presentation monitors 108, 202, 302, 402, the mediacollectors 110, and/or the mobile devices 106 of FIGS. 1-4 are shown inFIGS. 9A-12. In this example, the machine readable instructions compriseone or more programs for execution by one or more processors such as theprocessor 1312 shown in the example processor platform 1300 discussedbelow in connection with FIG. 13. The programs may be embodied insoftware stored on a tangible machine readable storage medium such as aCD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), aBlu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 1312, but theentire programs and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed bydevice(s) other than the processor 1312 and/or embodied in firmware ordedicated hardware. Further, although the example programs are describedwith reference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 9A-12, many othermethods of implementing the example presentation monitors 108, 202, 302,402, the example media collectors 110, and/or the example mobile devices106 of FIGS. 1-4 may alternatively be used. For example, the order ofexecution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocksdescribed may be changed, eliminated, or combined.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 9A-12 may beimplemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer readableinstructions) stored on a tangible computer readable medium such as ahard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a compactdisk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, a random-accessmemory (RAM) and/or any other storage media in which information isstored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently,brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of theinformation). As used herein, the term tangible computer readable mediumis expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storageand to exclude propagating signals. Additionally or alternatively, theexample processes of FIGS. 9A-12 may be implemented using codedinstructions (e.g., computer readable instructions) stored on anon-transitory computer readable medium such as a hard disk drive, aflash memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatiledisk, a cache, a random-access memory and/or any other storage media inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/orfor caching of the information). As used herein, the term non-transitorycomputer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type ofcomputer readable medium and to exclude propagating signals. As usedherein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in apreamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term“comprising” is open ended. Thus, a claim using “at least” as thetransition term in its preamble may include elements in addition tothose expressly recited in the claim.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 900 which, when executed, cause a processor to transmit anotification of media presentation. The example instructions 900 of FIG.9 may be used to implement the presentation monitors 108, 202, 302, 402of FIGS. 1-4, the presentation detectors 502 of FIGS. 5A-5C, and/or thestatus updaters 504 of FIGS. 5A-5C.

The example presentation detector 502 determines whether a mediapresentation is detected (block 902). For example, the presentationdetector 502 may detect media presentation by detecting networkconnections and/or data received from a network (e.g., the network 116of FIG. 1) at a media presentation device (e.g., the media presentationdevices 104, 204, 304 of FIGS. 1-3), by monitoring an operating state ofthe media presentation device 104, 204, 304 (e.g., an on state, aplaying media state, a paused state, an off state, etc.), by monitoringuser inputs (e.g., remote control or other user inputs), by monitoringone or more sensors (e.g., the sensor(s) 506 and/or the transducer(s)508 of FIG. 5B), by snooping data being transmitted to and/or from themedia presentation device 104, 204, 304 and/or the network 116, and/orusing any other method to determine whether media likely is beingpresented. If a media presentation is not detected (block 902), controlloops to block 902 to continue monitoring for a media presentation.

If a media presentation is detected (block 902), the example statusupdater 504 transmits a notification (e.g., a status update) of apresentation of media (block 904). For example, the status updater 504may send an update message (e.g., the status update message 820 of FIG.8) to a status server (e.g., the status server 112 of FIGS. 1-4 and/orthe status server 804 of FIG. 8) indicating a likelihood that media isbeing presented.

In the example of FIG. 9A, control loops to block 902 to continuemonitoring for presentation of media. In some such examples, thepresentation monitor 500 sends repeated status updates to the statusserver 112. These status updates confirm that there is a continuinglikelihood that the media presentation device is presenting media. Insome other examples, the instructions 900 may end after transmitting thenotification (block 904) and transfer control to the instructions 906 ofFIG. 9B to determine an end of media being presented.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 906 which, when executed, cause a processor to transmit anotification that media is not currently being presented. The exampleinstructions 906 of FIG. 9 may be used to implement the presentationmonitors 108, 202, 302, 402 of FIGS. 1-4, the presentation detectors 502of FIGS. 5A-5C, and/or the status updaters 504 of FIGS. 5A-5C. In someexamples, the instructions 906 are used in combination with the exampleinstructions 900 of FIG. 9A to update a status of media presentation ata status server.

The example instructions 900 begin with a status (e.g., at a statusserver) of a monitored location indicating a likelihood of media beingpresented. The example presentation detector 502 determines whether amedia presentation is detected (block 908). For example, thepresentation detector 502 may detect that media is not being presentedby failing to detect that audio is being output by the mediapresentation device, detecting that the presentation device is in an offstate, etc. If a media presentation is detected (block 908), controlloops to block 902 to continue monitoring for a media presentation.

If a media presentation is not detected (block 908), the example statusupdater 504 transmits a notification (e.g., a status update) that mediais not being presented (block 910). For example, the status updater 504may send an update message (e.g., the status update message 834 of FIG.8) to a status server (e.g., the status server 112 of FIGS. 1-4 and/orthe status server 804 of FIG. 8) indicating that there is not alikelihood that media is being presented.

In the example of FIG. 9B, control loops to block 902 to continuemonitoring for presentation of media. In some other examples, theinstructions 900 may end after transmitting the notification (block 904)and transfer control to the instructions 906 of FIG. 9B. In someexamples, the instructions represented by FIGS. 9A and 9B are combinedinto one processor flow (e.g., blocks 902 and 908 are combined andcontrol proceeds to block 904 is media is detected and to block 910 ifmedia is not detected).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions which, when executed, cause a processor to monitor audio.The example instructions 1000 of FIG. 10 may be used to implement amedia collector (e.g., the media collector 110 of FIGS. 1-4, the mediacollector 600 of FIG. 6, and/or the media collector 700 of FIG. 7).

A status checker (e.g., the status checker 602 of FIGS. 6 and 7)receives from a status server (e.g., the status server 112 of FIGS. 1-4)a media presentation status (block 1002). The media presentation statusindicates media is being presented (or is likely being presented) at afirst location (e.g., the first location 102 of FIGS. 1-3, a panelisthousehold, etc.). In some examples, the status checker 602 polls (e.g.,requests the status from) the status server 112. In some examples, thestatus server 112 additionally or alternatively provides the status tothe status checker 602 without a prior request from the status checker602.

The example status checker 602 determines whether the status messageindicates a likelihood that media is being presented (block 1004). Forexample, the status checker 602 may receive a Boolean status indicatingthat there is a likelihood or there is not a likelihood. In some otherexamples, the status checker 602 checks a likelihood against athreshold. If the status indicates there is not a likelihood of mediabeing presented (block 1004), control returns to block 1002 to awaitanother status.

On the other hand, if the status indicates that media is being presented(block 1004), an audio receiver (e.g., the audio receiver 604 of FIGS. 6and 7) is installed to receive or collect audio (block 1006). Forexample, the audio receiver 604 may enable a microphone and store (e.g.,in the data store 608 of FIGS. 6 and 7) any audio captured by themicrophone (and/or representations of the audio). A data transmitter(e.g., the data transmitter 610 of FIGS. 6 and 7) transmits the audio toa media monitoring server (e.g., the media monitoring server 114 ofFIGS. 1-4) (block 1008). In the example of FIG. 10, control returns toblock 1002 to receive a media presentation status. In some otherexamples, control may loop to block 1006 to continue receiving and/ortransmitting audio until a media presentation status is receivedindicating there is no longer a likelihood of media being presentedand/or until a status indicating the likelihood of media being presentedexpires.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1100 which, when executed, cause a processor to monitoraudio. The example instructions 1100 of FIG. 11 may be used to implementa media collector including a locator (e.g., the media collector 110 ofFIGS. 1-4 and/or the media collector 700 of FIG. 7).

A locator (e.g., the locator 702 of FIG. 7) determines a location of amedia collector (e.g., the mobile device 106 and/or the media collector110 of FIGS. 1-4, the media collector 700 of FIG. 7) (block 1102). Forexample, the locator 702 may include or access a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) sensor to determine a location of the mobile device 106.The position may additionally or alternatively be determined usingcellular and/or WiFi access point triangulation. The locator 702determines whether the media collector 700 is near a known mediapresentation location (block 1104). For example, the locator 702 maydetermine whether the mobile device 106 is located in substantially thesame location as (e.g., proximate to, within audio range of) the firstlocation 102 where a media presentation device (e.g., the mediapresentation devices 104, 204, 304 of FIGS. 1-3) is known to be located.If the media collector 700 is not near a known media presentationlocation (block 1104), control returns to block 1102 to determine thelocation of the media collector. In some examples, the return to block1102 from block 1104 includes a delay to reduce a battery drain fromrepeated determinations of location.

If the locator 702 determines that the media collector 700 is near themedia presentation location (block 1104), the status checker 602receives from a status server (e.g., the status server 112 of FIGS. 1-4)a media presentation status (block 1106). The media presentation statusindicates whether there is a likelihood of media being presented at thepresent media presentation location. In some examples, the statuschecker 602 polls (e.g., requests the status from) the status server112. In some other examples, the status server 112 provides the statusto the status checker 602 without a prior request from the statuschecker 602.

The example status checker 602 determines whether the status indicates alikelihood that media is being presented (block 1108). For example, thestatus checker 602 may receive a Boolean status indicating that there isa sufficient likelihood or there is not a sufficient likelihood. In someother examples, the status checker 602 checks a received likelihoodagainst a threshold. If the status indicates there is not a sufficientlikelihood of media being presented (block 1108), control returns toblock 1102 to determine a location of the media collector 700.

On the other hand, if the status indicates that media is (or is likely)being presented (block 1108), an audio receiver (e.g., the audioreceiver 604 of FIG. 7) receives or collects audio (block 1110). Forexample, the audio receiver 604 may enable a microphone and store (e.g.,in the data store 608 of FIG. 7) any audio (or codes and/or signatures)captured by the microphone. A media monitor (e.g., the media monitor 606of FIG. 7) identifies the audio (block 1112). For example, the mediamonitor 606 may identify one or more codes in the audio and/or maygenerate one or more signature(s) and/or hash(es) of the audio tofacilitate recognition of the media.

The example media monitor 606 stores the identification of the audio(e.g., in the data store 608 of FIG. 7) (block 1114). Control thenreturns to block 1102 to determine the location of the media collector.In some examples, a data transmitter (e.g., the data transmitter 610 ofFIG. 7) transmits the identification(s) to a media monitoring server.For example, the instructions 1100 of FIG. 11 may be used in combinationwith the instructions 1200 of FIG. 12 to collect media and transmit themedia.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1200 which, when executed, cause a processor to transmitstored data. The example instructions 1200 may be used to implement theexample media collector 110 of FIGS. 1-4, the example media collector600 of FIG. 6, and/or the example media collector 700 of FIG. 7. Theexample instructions 1200 of FIG. 12 may be used in combination with theexample instructions 1000 of FIG. 10 and/or the example instructions1100 of FIG. 11 to collect media and transmit the collected media to amedia monitoring server (e.g., the media monitoring server 114 of FIGS.1-4).

A data transmitter (e.g., the data transmitter 610 of FIGS. 6 and 7)determines whether a data storage threshold has been exceeded (block1202). For example, the data transmitter 610 may determine whether morethan a threshold portion of a data storage (e.g., the data storage 608of FIGS. 6 and 7) assigned, reserved, or dedicated to storage of mediacollection has been exceeded. If the data storage threshold is notexceeded (block 1202), control returns to block 1202 to monitor datastorage and again compare to the threshold. In some examples, the returnof control to block 1202 includes a delay to provide additional time tostore media collection data. The delay may vary with (e.g., beproportional to) the amount of data stored in the data storage.

If the data storage threshold has been exceeded (block 1204), the datatransmitter 610 transmits stored data (e.g., to the media monitoringserver 114 of FIGS. 1-4). In some examples, the data transmitter 610transmits data that has not been previously transmitted to the mediamonitoring server 114. After transmitting the data, control returns toblock 1202 to monitor the data storage with respect to the threshold.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1300 capableof executing the instructions 900, 906, 1000, 1100, 1200 of FIGS. 9A-12to implement the example presentation detectors 502, the example statusupdaters 504, the example sensors 506, the example transducers 508, theexample media presentation device port 510, the example network port512, the example status checkers 602, the example audio receivers 604,the example media monitors 606, the example data stores 608, the exampledata transmitters 610, the example locator 702 and/or, more generally,the example presentation monitors 108, 202, 302, 402, the example mediacollectors 110, and/or the example mobile devices 106 of FIGS. 1-4. Theprocessor platform 1300 can be, for example, a server, a personalcomputer, a mobile phone (e.g., a cell phone), a personal digitalassistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a personal media device, a DVDplayer, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, agaming console, a personal video recorder, a set top box, or any othertype of computing device.

The processor platform 1300 of the instant example includes a processor1312. For example, the processor 1312 can be implemented by one or moremicroprocessors or controllers from any desired family or manufacturer.

The processor 1312 includes a local memory 1313 (e.g., a cache) and isin communication with a main memory including a volatile memory 1314 anda non-volatile memory 1316 via a bus 1318. The volatile memory 1314 maybe implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM),Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory(RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory 1316 may be implemented by flash memory and/or anyother desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 1314,1316 is controlled by a memory controller.

The computer 1300 also includes an interface circuit 1320. The interfacecircuit 1320 may be implemented by any type of interface standard, suchas an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCIexpress interface.

One or more input devices 1322 are connected to the interface circuit1320. The input device(s) 1322 permit a user to enter data and commandsinto the processor 1312. The input device(s) can be implemented by, forexample, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball,isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 1324 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 1320. The output devices 1324 can be implemented, for example,by display devices (e.g., a liquid crystal display, a cathode ray tubedisplay (CRT), and/or speakers). The interface circuit 1320, thus,typically includes a graphics driver card.

The interface circuit 1320 also includes a communication device such asa modem or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal computers via a network 1326 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, adigital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, acellular telephone system, etc.) (e.g., the network 116 of FIGS. 1-4).

The computer 1300 also includes one or more mass storage devices 1328for storing software and data. Examples of such mass storage devices1328 include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks, compact disk drivesand digital versatile disk (DVD) drives. The mass storage device 1328may implement the data store 608 of FIGS. 6 and 7.

The coded instructions 1332 of FIGS. 9A-12 may be stored in the massstorage device 1328, in the volatile memory 1314, in the non-volatilememory 1316, in the local memory 1313, and/or on a removable storagemedium such as a CD or DVD.

Disclosed methods, apparatus and machine-readable storage media improvemonitoring of media presentation via a mobile device. Example methods,apparatus and machine-readable storage media disclosed herein increasethe battery life of mobile devices used to monitor media by limiting theamount of audio or media collection the mobile device performs toinstances or situations in which there is at least a thresholdlikelihood that media is being presented. The increase in batteryperformance resulting from disclosed example methods, apparatus andmachine-readable storage media improves user (e.g., panelist)satisfaction and/or user (e.g., panelist) compliance with a monitoringprogram that uses mobile devices. The increased satisfaction may causepanelists to remain panelists for longer periods of time, therebyincreasing resources of the audience measurement company.

Although certain example methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacturehave been described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus, and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scopeof the claims of this patent.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a locator to compare alocation of a mobile device with a set of reference locations at whichaudio monitoring is to be performed; an audio receiver to: enable amicrophone of the mobile device to collect audio for media monitoringwhen (1) the location of the mobile device corresponds to a firstlocation of the set of reference locations and (2) a media presentationmonitor at the first location of the set of reference locationsindicates a likelihood of media being presented at the first locationsatisfies a threshold; disable the microphone from collecting audio formedia monitoring when the location of the mobile device corresponds tothe first location and the media presentation monitor indicates thelikelihood of the media being presented at the first location does notsatisfy the threshold; and disable the microphone from collecting audiofor media monitoring when the location of the mobile device does notcorrespond to any of the set of reference locations.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the locator is to determine the mobile device is at thefirst location based on whether the mobile device is connected to awireless local area network associated with the first location.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, further including a data transmitter to transmitat least one of the collected audio or an identification of thecollected audio to a media monitoring server.
 4. The apparatus of claim3, wherein the data transmitter is to transmit the at least one of thecollected audio or the identification of the collected audio when athreshold audio collection amount is satisfied.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 3, wherein the data transmitter is to transmit the at least one ofthe collected audio or the identification of the collected audio at aregular interval or in response to a request.
 6. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the likelihood of the media being presented at the firstlocation is determined based on a sensor or transducer input at thefirst location.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the likelihood ofthe media being presented at the first location is determined based onat least one of a mobile application operating on the mobile device, anoperating state of a media presentation device at the first location, oruser inputs to the media presentation device.
 8. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium comprising computer readable instructionswhich, when executed, cause a processor of a mobile device to at least:compare a location of a mobile device with a set of reference locationsat which audio monitoring is to be performed; enable a microphone of themobile device to collect audio for media monitoring when (1) thelocation of the mobile device corresponds to a first location of the setof reference locations and (2) a media presentation monitor at the firstlocation of the set of reference locations indicates a likelihood ofmedia being presented at the first location satisfies a threshold;disable the microphone from collecting audio for media monitoring whenthe location of the mobile device corresponds to the first location andthe media presentation monitor indicates the likelihood of the mediabeing presented at the first location does not satisfy the threshold;and disable the microphone from collecting audio for media monitoringwhen the location of the mobile device does not correspond to any of theset of reference locations.
 9. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause theprocessor of the mobile device to determine the mobile device is at thefirst location based on whether the mobile device is connected to awireless local area network associated with the first location.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein theinstructions, when executed, cause the processor of the mobile device totransmit at least one of the collected audio or an identification of thecollected audio to a media monitoring server.
 11. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted, cause the processor of the mobile device to transmit the atleast one of the collected audio or the identification of the collectedaudio when a threshold audio collection amount is satisfied.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein theinstructions, when executed, cause the processor of the mobile device totransmit the at least one of the collected audio or the identificationof the collected audio at a regular interval or in response to arequest.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8,wherein the likelihood of the media being presented at the firstlocation is determined based on a sensor input at the first location.14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein thelikelihood of the media being presented at the first location isdetermined based on at least one of a mobile application operating onthe mobile device, an operating state of a media presentation device atthe first location, or user inputs to the media presentation device.